


Flowers

by chai_pandemic17



Series: Saltwater [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Blushing, Blushing Yamaguchi Tadashi, Boys In Love, Cars, Cold, Cute Yamaguchi Tadashi, Drawing, Everone Is Gay, Flirting, Flowers, Fluff, Flustered, Gay, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), POV Alternating, POV Third Person, POV Tsukishima Kei, POV Yamaguchi Tadashi, Painting, Painting Commission, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29866098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_pandemic17/pseuds/chai_pandemic17
Summary: And now, at last, they make their way to the shop that commissioned Yamaguchi to paint for them a mural to boost sales in the coming spring. The lady running the shop thinks she knows what's going on between them - but is she?It starts off with a pair of headphones, a duffel bag, and a package of colored pencils.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Saltwater [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189511
Kudos: 8





	Flowers

_(Yamaguchi's POV)_

The world flew by the car window as Tsukki drove. _What a strange phrase,_ Yamaguchi thought, smiling. It was familiar enough that your eyes skimmed over it on the page, but when you really thought about it, it was beautiful and terrifying all at once. The thought of the world parting from the tires on the road, lifting away, and simply soaring past as if it were a great cloud through an airplane window. The "Yellow" playlist played in the background as they rode, bright and nervous and anticipating, heading towards the shop that had commissioned Yamaguchi just that morning.

"Tsukki," Yamaguchi began, as they neared the shopping streets. "Let's park here - at the movie theater we went to last night! It doesn't seem too crowded."

Tsukki just hummed, already turning the car toward the chosen place.

Soon, they were parked and shutting the doors, hearing the familiar beep as it locked. Yamaguchi knelt beside Tsukki on the sidewalk, quickly retying his shoes. Then he rose and, with a reddening nose, grinned, pulling his white jacket closer around him. Tsukki handed him his duffel bag, which he took and slung over his shoulder. Then they stood, side by side, taking a simultaneous deep breath of preparation.

They were on the main street, which was always a popular place for pedestrians. The sun shone down on the shops that lined the street, the power lines and dark street lamps, the swarms of people that passed them, moving up and down the sidewalk like ants. With their bright coats and chatter and bubbly laughter, they streamed in and out of doors, hesitantly or boldly as if they owned the place.

They had left the movie theater behind as they walked a couple minutes ago, but there was another one, here - bigger and more popular, but more crowded. There were a few street vendors, selling hot holiday specials that warmed you up from the inside-out. Yamaguchi's mouth watered, but he managed to tear his gaze away from a hot _yakiimo_ vendor.

There was a grocery store, a school supply store, a tattoo parlor, and a few other shops Yamaguchi wasn't sure about, each of which he pointed out for Tsukki. All the swarming colors were almost too much, but over the years, he had gotten more or less used to it. Tsukki, on the other hand, grimaced, and pulled his white headphones over his ears almost immediately to drown out the sounds, if not the overwhelming visuals.

The sharp winter air stung their faces, and they resigned to be pressed up against each other as they walked, hidden from most judging eyes by the bustling crowds around them. Finally, _finally_ , they came upon their destination, and the chill that had seeped into their bones seemed to fade away slightly as they saw it. The bitterness simply had no place here.

~•°•°---------------------°•°•~

 _(Note: "Yakiimo" is a roasted potato, usually sold in Asian countries during winter at street vendors. Here is a passage about it_ _: "If you're in Japan during the winter season you might have seen street vendors roast potatoes on coals. There are even yakiimo carts with a real fire. You're lucky if you spot one! Most of the time they are standard sweet potatoes, but Japan has a large variety of potatoes that differ in taste. It's wrapped in tinfoil and baked with its skin. This warm and sweet snack is delicious on a cold winter day, and the roasted skin makes the outside nice and crispy. Just follow your nose to find this popular Japan winter street food!"_

~•°•°---------------------°•°•~

_(Tsukishima's POV)_

During their walk towards the shop, Tsukishima had tried, as always, to drown out the world around him with his headphones. The sounds calmed his mind, relaxed the jitter that settled in his fingertips, and loosened the wound-up muscles in his shoulders that had threatened to climb up to his ears. He'd breathed deeply, wincing again at the sharp air that stabbed at his lungs, reminding him just how much he despised being out during winter.

 _"Count with me, alright?"_ He heard Yamaguchi's voice whenever they brushed up against each other. _"Can you find five things you can see?"_

A trash bin. A red sign with glittering old lettering. A western Santa hat. The yellow light on a street vendor. A kid being pulled along by his mother.

Tsukki went through each - sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste - hearing Yamaguchi's voice all the way. Finally, his heart rate settled, his breathing steadied, and he found himself standing in front of the place that had commissioned Yamaguchi. He pulled off his headphones in time to hear him gasp in delight.

The flower shop was quiet, and looked almost dusty in the winter light. The fabric awning was a dark, faded green, and had _"Bright and Blooming"_ written on it in flaking _kanji_. The single glass door had a "Closed" sign on it, and was surrounded by empty pots and trays that would contain dozens of beautiful plants in the spring. Above the shop was a very plain-looking concrete wall, empty and almost foreboding.

Yamaguchi glanced towards Tsukki almost anxiously, who sighed and stepped towards the shop first. He briefly worried about how they would be seen, two boys stepping into a flower shop together, before relaxing by reminding himself that the shop was very obviously closed. They reached the door and he pressed the doorbell, hearing it ring distantly.

Soon, they heard footsteps, and the grinning face of a kind young woman appeared in the glass doorway. She wore a long, brown, warm-looking cloak that almost covered her winter boots, and had round, dark glasses that matched her rounded face and dark hair pulled up into a loose bun. She unlocked the door for them with a jingle of keys, and opened it, beckoning them in.

As they passed her in their entrance, they bowed their heads respectfully, and Yamaguchi accompanied this with a polite smile. They noticed immediately how much warmer it was inside, and breathed in gratefully.

"Hello!" she greeted once they were inside and the door was safely shut against the cold.

The inside was small, but clearly empty: the shelves were bare, there were stacks of clean - but dusty - plant pots, and the desk was devoid of any personality, save for a bright pink binder stuffed full of papers. The floor was wood panelling, and the walls were a white tile that looked like it should have something covering it, like photographs or paintings.

"So you must be..." she began, looking between the two expectantly.

Tsukishima glanced toward Yamaguchi, who looked as if he were about to combust from nervousness, his freckles disappearing on pink cheeks. He bowed deeper than necessary, holding his duffel out of the way, _ahoge_ flapping.

"M - my name is Yamaguchi Tadashi! Thank you very much for commissioning me, miss!" He straightened, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet, breathless.

She laughed. "Well alright then! And you are..?" she asked, turning to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Tsukishima Kei," he said, simply and almost rudely, inclining his head.

"He's a friend - accompanying me!" the other rushed to add, kicking Tsukki's ankle.

She laughed again, turning to sit behind the desk and sliding the pink binder towards herself. "My name is Hanabusa Ichika, but you can just call me Hana. Thank you for coming, and welcome to my shop! I can't wait to get started!"

~•°•°--------------------°•°•~

_(Note: "Kanji" is "a system of Japanese writing using Chinese characters."_

_"Ahoge", "literally 'stupid hair,' refers to a strand of hair that springs upwards from the character's head. A rebellious hair that doesn't conform to the rest of the head hairstyle, and, sometimes, appears to defy gravity and other laws of physics. In English, 'cow lick' refers to something similar."_

_"Hanabusa" is a common surname that roughly translates to "flower room"._

_"Ichika" is a common female name that roughly translates to "one thousand flowers"._

_"Hana" is a common female name in many cultures that translates to "flower".)_

~•°•°--------------------°•°•~

_(Yamaguchi's POV)_

Hana opened the binder, flipping through pages and babbling the whole time. “So obviously I was thinking something bright and flowery, but perhaps something that could be used all year long because I don’t think I’ll be able to afford having it repainted each season. So lots of different colors, mostly green, though - something that roughly stays within a rectangle but it would look  _ so _ pretty if some petals and leaves came out of the border--”

Suddenly, Yamaguchi brightened, having just seen the concepts sketched in the binder, and all but leapt over. “Here, let me try drawing some concepts for you!” he said, settling into a stool across from her, still slightly nervous. She grinned and handed him the binder as he dug through his duffel on the other stool, fishing out a sketchbook and a package of colored pencils.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsukishima sigh quietly and tug his headphones back on before pulling out his phone and turning away. Hana laughed quietly - almost knowingly, which made Yamaguchi look up at her from his frantic sketches. Her eyebrow was quirked up again, reminding him a bit of Tsukki. He blinked.

“You’re in love, aren’t you?” she asked with a smile.

Yamaguchi jolted, accidentally knocking the package of colored pencils to the floor. A long, pale hand picked them up off the floor and set them back on the counter before he could even lean down. He looked up at Tsukki and smiled sheepishly, wondering how he’d gotten there so fast.

_ “Gomen, _ Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, the words quickly becoming a fidget of his tongue.

The other rolled his eyes down at him and turned away, slumping against a wall and becoming fixed on his phone screen. Yamaguchi tore his eyes away and turned back to Hana, only then realizing he was smiling. He cleared his throat, embarrassed, and looked back down at his notebook, scribbling in a flower petal almost absentmindedly.

“How… what makes you think that?” he asked, too casually.

Hana smiled, letting her chin rest in her hand. “I run a flower shop,” she said, not unkindly. “I can tell. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.”

Yamaguchi flushed, staring pointedly down at the paper, watching flowers flow from the tip of his colored pencil. He stayed mostly within the sharp lines of the rectangle he’d drawn first. Then he cleared his throat, looking up as boldly as he could.

“It - it’s not as hopeless as you think,” he started. “We’re already - together.”

Both of her eyebrows raised that time. “And you’re pining after each other  _ that much? _ Wow - you two must be very new at this.”

“It’s actually been a few years, now…”

Hana let out an odd noise of shock and exasperation. “Are you  _ always _ like this, then?”

“Like what?” Tsukki asked, suddenly beside Yamaguchi, and stared inconspicuously down at Yamaguchi’s partially finished artwork.

“Like--” She stopped, suddenly, only then realizing it wasn’t Yamaguchi who had spoken. She widened her eyes, looking at Yamaguchi, whose head had fallen into his arms. He waved her on in resignation, but they could both see the pink tips of his ears. “Like you’re both madly in love with your best friend, but can’t say anything!” she finished quickly, like a confession.

Yamaguchi turned his head to see Tsukki’s reaction: that familiar quirk of a brow and those downturned lips.

“We’re gay Japanese men in public.”

“Ah,” Hana said, also flushing. “I see.”

Tsukki turned to Yamaguchi, who opened his mouth to say  _ gomen _ again, but was interrupted.

“I like this design,” he said, gesturing to what Yamaguchi had been sketching. The compliment was unexpected, and received with splutters and a red face and a stammered “Thanks?”

Hana laughed in relief, feeling as if she’d been released from an iron cage of glaring eyes.


End file.
